Cryptocurrency

US targets $26.4 million in five crypto scam cases as DOJ says $800 million recovered – Crypto News

Published

2 days ago

July 23, 2026

Dripp

U.S. prosecutors filed five civil-forfeiture complaints on July 21 seeking roughly $26.4 million in cryptocurrency traced through separate international fraud investigations.

Investigators can freeze suspected criminal proceeds before they know who is behind the scheme. They can then seek forfeiture while the search for suspects continues, with any final seizure and repayment to victims decided later.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said one investigation traced more than 270 suspected victim transactions involving fraudulent investment platforms. Another involved more than 200 romance-scam victims and hundreds of intermediary addresses used to commingle funds.

Across all five cases, DOJ said launderers were predominantly located in Southeast Asia, with associated IP addresses in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

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The fifth and smallest case shows the danger of repeat victimization. A person who had already lost money to an unrelated fraud was then contacted by scammers claiming they had recovered the stolen funds.

The victim paid a fee and sent a series of transactions before investigators traced some of those transactions. The complaint seeks about $285,000, and efforts to recover additional funds are continuing.

From restraint to restitution

A freeze is intended to prevent identified cryptocurrency from moving. A civil-forfeiture complaint starts the next legal step by asking a court to transfer ownership of the property to the government.